Delivery sheet slow down mechanism



Feb. 9, 1960 H. E. PEYREBRUNE DELIVERY SHEET snow DOWN MECHANISM 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 24, 1957 I NVENTOR HENRI E. PEYREBRUNE ATTORNEYS Feb. 9, 1960 H. E. PEYREBRUNE 2,924,453

DELIVERY SHEET SLOW DOWN MECHANISM Filed May 24, 1957 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 mull-(lib 7/ "I a ZZI l lllilllllllllllflllllllllllg 31R 54 771,771?

Feb. 9, 1960 H. E. PEYREBRUNE 2,924,453

DELIVERY SHEET SLOW DOWN MECHANISM Filed May 24, 1957 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 E i k ,IIIIIIIVIIIIIIA INVENTOR.

HENRI E 'PEYREBRUNE essing machines.

110802036. The device disclosed ins'aid patent however,

Unired St o DELIVERY snnnrsrow DOWN MECHANISM Henri E. Peyrehrune, River Forest, 111., assignor to Miehle- .Goss-Dexter, Incorporated, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Delaware Application May 24, 1957, Serial No. 661,469

4 Claims. (Cl. 271-79) 'This invention pertains in general to delivery mechanisms for sheet fed printing presses or the like sheet proc- It is directed more specifically to an improved sheet slow down device for eflectively retarding each sheet upon its release by the grippers of an endless chain conveyor for deposit onto a delivery pile.

Heretofore it has been customary to utilize suction rollers and/ or suction fingers to engage each sheet at its rear end or front edge respectively as it is released from the grippers of the delivery chain conveyor in order to retard and deposit the sheet onto the delivery pile. Such means have proven to be satisfactory and quite eflicient in operation when relatively light weight paper is processed and when the press is operated at moderate speeds. When heavier weight stock such as cardboard or the like is handled, however, the inertia of such relatively heavy sheets'tends to overcome the effectiveness of the vacuum devices and, as a result, the sheets cannot be stacked accurately. Moreover, the failure of the vacuum devices to effectively retard the sheets results in their striking the front steps or. joggers with such force that the leading edge thereof invariably becor'nesdamaged to such anex tent that the sheets are rendered unacceptable. Thisconditionbbviously becomes more acute as the speed of the. press and/orthe' weightof the sheets is'increa'sed.

oovercome this condition it has already been proposed providepositive acting mechanical means for engaging each'sheet upon its releaseby the chain delivery grippers wliereby'itis retarded and accurately positioned on the delivery pile. Such a device is disclosed in;U .S. Patent is.:relatively limitedin its operation, due to the drive mechanism employed} and would be comparatively ineffective on.modern'sheet fed pressesjin whichrthe lineal speed ofv the sheets isusually excess of- 500 feet per minute. Underjsuch circumstances the ratchet drivenre 2,924,453 Patented Feb. 9, 1960 ice bers thereof remain in timed relation with respect to the chain delivery mechanism when longitudinal adjustments are imparted thereto.

Still another object resides in the provision of means for controlling the trailing portion of the sheet until it is engaged by the retarding members.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from the following description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein;

Figure 1 is a schematic view in side elevation showing the slow down unit as embodied in a conventional double pile delivery mechanism;

Figure 2 is a sectional view of the device in front elevation shown at an enlarged scale;

Figure 3 is an end view as seen from the left of Figure 2 with parts broken away to illustrate the drive mechanism;

Figure 4 is a view taken along line IV-IV of Figure 2;

Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 4 illustrating the sheet control disc;

Figure 6 is a sectional view taken along lines V-IVI pile chain delivery mechanism and, although it has particular' advantages when used in conjunction with such device, this is not to be regarded as a limitation since it willproduce equally effective resultswhen used in conjunction withfa' conventional single pile delivery mechanism. As shown in the drawing, the chain delivery mechanism comprises a pair of spaced endless chains 10 which 1 are tracked around sprockets 11 and 12. and have fixed thereto in spaced relation aplurality of gripper units 13 for taking successive sheets from the last impression cylinder of the printing press, not shown, and conveying them over the respective delivery piles 14 and 15. As the respective gripper units approach the position above either one of the delivery piles, the gripper actuating levers 16.

I onto the respective pile. Depending upon the manner in i which the sheets are to be deposited or delivered the earns ing roller of'the patented device would quickly be accelerated to substantially the samespeedas the sheets and thus would have little effect insofar as retarding the sheets is concerned. j I f Itis a primary object of this-invention, therefore to provide an improved mechanical sheet slow down device I which will effectively retard the forward motion of sheets regardless of press speed.

Another objectyis to provide-Ya positively driven sheet slowdown device incorporating resilient means which permit limited over travel of the retarding member to avoid damaging the sheets. I

Astill further objectflof this invention resides in the provision of means whereby the coacting members can. be adjusted in accordance with the-thickness oflthe sheets being processed. a

.A furtherobject resides in the provision of means for adjusting the slow down unit longitudinally in the path of the sheets in accordance with the size of the sheets being handled nave met-115mm for th'eilni't whefebythe 'coacting Diem sheet is deposited upon its respective pile.

method ofde'livery is particularly advantageous when it 1 7'and 18 may be so set so that all of the sheets may be delivered onto either one of the piles 14 or 15 or they may be arranged to be actuated so that each alternate The alternate was mentioned hereinbefore, modern sheet fed rotary presses operate at relatively high speed and thus it will blades 19 with such force that the leading edge thereof becomes damaged to such an extent that the sheets are "rendered unacceptable. Heretofore, it has been the practice to provide suction rollers adjacent the rear edge of: the delivery pile to engage and effect a retarding influence upon the sheets as they are released by the delivery =gi'ip-.; pets Such devices have proven to be only-moderately successful. When light stock is processed for example,

the tra'iling edge thereofflutters and waves in such an erraticmanner as it is being conveyed by the chain delivery grippers that the suction roller seldom, if ever, makes sufii- With the present inv'entioneach sheetis'retarded by positive acting mechanicalmeans whichengage both the top and bottom surfaces of the sheets,"preferably on each side---thereof near its tail edge, simultaneously with or immediately prior to its release by the. delivery grippers whereupon the sheet is immediately and "positively re- ,tardedl Moreover, the coacting sheet engaging members of the unit are adapted to impartfinal-motionto the sheetwherebyto position itaccurately onto the pile.- j

Each sheet slow down unit-is mounted adjacentthe rear edge of its respective delivery pile, seeFigure 1, and.

is comprised ofside frame members Hand 22," Figure 2, which are located in-spaced relation-on each side of the delivery mechanism. These frame membersin turnare supported on a pair of spaced horizontally disposed bars 23 and 24 which are an integral part and extend substantially the full length of the chain delivery mechanism.

A shaft 26 which extends transversely across the full width of the delivery mechanism; is journalled forrotationin the side frame members-21, 22, above the path. of

the sheets in bearings 27 and 28 which in turn are mounted in eccentric brackets 29 and 30'respectively. At one end the shaft 26 is provided with an internal'gear 31, which latter is securely keyed thereto andheld inzposition-bya cap 32 and screw the end of the shaft.

Mounted substantially vertically below the shaft 26 is 33 which I is threaded into a second shaft 34 which also is journalled in theside. frame members 21 and22 for rotation about an axis below the path of the sheets and this shaft. is also provided with a drive gear 36 which is secured to one end thereof.

The two shafts 26' and 34 are driven in precise timed relation directly fromthe delivery chain by means ofja chain sprocket 37. The latter meshes withthelower run of' the chain 10 which at this point is supported on a track; 38 secured to the innerface of the barv 23. The sprocket 37 is fixed to a shaft 39 which is journalled for rotation in, the side frame member 21 and has secured "to its-opposite end a compound pinion gear 41 having teeth 42 which mesh with the. teeth of the drive gear 31 and gear teeth 43 which mesh with the teeth of the drive gear 36. Thus it will be seen that when the delivery chain 10 is in operation the. respective shafts 26 and 34. will be. rotated in opposite directions and in timed relation there with.

Mounted on the shaft 34 for engagement .withthe bottom face of' the sheets passing thereover are a. pair of wheels 44. The latter are preferably keyed to the shaft for positive rotation. therewith and areadjustable axially thereon so that they can be positioned in. accordance.

with the width of the sheetsbeing delivered. Set screws 4 6.are provided ,in the hub of each wheel so, they may be lockedin any selected position. Mounted on the shaft.

26:for, coaction with eachof the wheels 44 toretard-the sheetsv as they pass therebetween' is asemi-cylindrical.

secured by means of screws 51 to the end face of a collar,

brake shoe segment 47 and a coacting sheetcontrol disc 48. .As best shown in Figure 2, the control disc 48 is of'thecollar 52 by means of screws 56. As. irrthe-case of-Lgth'eawheels- 44, this collar and therewith the controh disc and brake shoe segment is also adjustableaxially correspondingblock59 fixed to the adjacent' facegof the;

brake'shoe segments. Thus.as. the disc 48.rotates.in clockwise direction, as seen in Figure 5, the brake shoe segmentwill be positively driven in unison therewith. It will be appreciated'that the ratio 'of the respective drive gears is such that the. surface speed of the brake shoe segment 47 and its coacting wheel 44 will be substantially one half the lineal speed of the chain conveyor 10 so that when engaged by the respective members, the sheets will be materially retarded before being deposited onto the piles; A coilspring 61, located in the, U shaped? cavity 62 formed in the brake shoe segment 47, exerts aconstant pressure between the end 63 of said cavity and the block 57 on the control disc to thereby maintain the blocks 57 and 5? in intimatecontact.

To providethe friction required for retarding and con-. trolling the sheets upon their release by the chain delivery. grippers, the brake shoe segment is equipped with a fric tion band or tire.64 which may be formed from any suitable material such as pure rubber or the like which has. a high coeflicient of friction but will not mark the sheets upon engagement therewith. This tire, which is substan-. tially square. in cross section, see Figure 8, is adaptedlto fit into a. groove 6.6fformed in thecylindrical surface'of. the'b'rake'shoe'and'it'extends'about the entire cylindrical portion of the shoe with the ends thereof securedto. the radial'reinforcing ribs 67 and 68 by the screws 69., Thus it can readily be removed for replacement if it. becomes worn or damaged;

Obviously, the entire length of the tire 64 is. not utilized at any one given time tov retard the sheets. In. other words only'a relatively short section of. the periphery of the tireactually engages the sheets to retard. them and such contact is preferably near the trailing edge of thesheet. Therefore, as will be evident from. Figure 4, when the the 64 is seated in the groove 66, its.. peripheral surfaceis spaced from the coacting surface. of. the wheel 44 and only a small portion thereof isprojected beyond the normal radius for coaction withthe wheel 44. In order to project a portion of the tire beyond its normal radius a shim 71 is insertedbeneath, the tire 64, said shim being seated on the shoulder 72: provided therefore in the periphery ofth'e brake shoe. segment'47. This shim may be of. any desired lengthv depending upon the extent of contact required uponj'the sheet and it-may be positioned angularly about theperiphery of the brake shoe to thereby time they engagement of the tire with the sheets. Such contact is pref-' 'erably timed so that the rearedge of the sheet willbe will be maintained at all times. I

Inorder. not .totearor in any other way damage; the sheet during the short period of time when it is engaged, by the chain delivery grippers and'the coacting slow down members which, as stated hereinbefore, have a surface speed substantially one half that of the delivery grippers, provision. is made for the brake shoe to advance with respect to its coacting drive members until v the sheet is' released by the chain delivery grippers. Asstated hereinbefore the brake shoe segment 47 is driven by the control disc 48 through the coacting blocks 57,59 and; these blocks are maintained in contact by the. resilient'pressure'ofspring 61. Thus when the active'por: tion of the tire 64 engages the sheet 73-whilethe lead ing edge of the latteris still grippedv by the delivery grip;

tation of the slow down members the projecting portion of the tire 64 will move out of contact with the coacting wheel 44 whereupon the tension of spring 61 will return the brake shoe segment to its original position. with the.

stop 59 in contact with the coating stop 57.

The provision of the resilient coupling between the brake shoe and the sheet control disc is particularly advantageous because it obviates the need for critical time consuming adjustments of the shim 71 which otherwise, would be required in order to time the engagement of the tire 64 with the sheet precisely as its leading edge is released. by the delivery grippers.

This feature is also of particular advantage when the device is used in conjunction with a double pile delivery mechanism as illustrated herein, and especially when the alternate method of delivery is employed. At such time it will be evident that each alternate sheet must be retarded bythe slow down unit associated with the rear pile 14 for deposit thereon whereas the intervening sheets must be permitted to pass through the slow down unit for deposit on the front pile 15. The resilient connection between the brake shoe and the control disc permits such sheets to pass through the rear slowdown unit for deposit on the front pile without the need for expensive and complicated tripping mechanism which otherwise would be'required to trip the rear unit to an inoperative position as the alternate sheets pass therethrough.

Although the primary purpose of the sheet control disc 48 is to drive the brake shoe segment in timed relation therewith, it also serves to control the trailing portion of the sheets until they are engaged by the slow down members. It will be appreciated that when the sheets are being conveyed by the chain delivery grippers 13, the tail edge thereof is relatively free and tends to flutter and wave in an erratic and unpredictable fashion. Unless this erratic action is adequately controlled the sheet is very apt to move out of its normal path and thus will not be engaged by the sheet slow down members.

For this reason, the sheet control disc 48 is made substantially continuous with a radius such that its peripheral surface is substantially tangent to the. path of the sheets. Thus as the gripper bars 77 move under the shaft 26, see Figure 5, the edge of the control disc comes down over the sheet to restrain it against excessive fluttering until it is engaged by the tire 64 on the brake shoe. In order to provide clearance for the delivery chain gripper bar 77 the control disc is provided with a notch or recessed portion 78 as clearly indicated in Figure 5. The control disc also serves as a protective cover for the brake shoe segment 47 preventing foreign material and dust from collecting in the coil spring cavity and around the coacting stops which would have an adverse effect upon the eflicient operation thereof.

The shaft 26 also is adjustable vertically relative to the shaft 34 whereby to vary the contact relation between the tire 64 and the wheel 44 in accordance with the thickness of the sheets being processed and to compensate for any wear of the respective tire 64. This adjustment is accomplished by means of the eccentric brackets 29 and 30, see Figures 2 and 3, which are adjustable angularly in the respective frame members 21 and 22. Each bracket is formed with a radial arm 81, the free end of which is bifurcated and carries a pivot pin 82. The latter is provided with a tapped hole transverse to its axis to receive the threaded end of a horizontally disposed screw member 83 which is rotatably mounted in a block 84 pivotally secured to the inner face of the respect ve framemembers 21 and 22. Collars 86 and 87 which are pinneclto the screw 83 on each side of the block 84 prevent axial movement thereof when the latter is rotated by means of the handle 88 to impart corresponding rotary motion to the brackets. The extent of adjustment impartedto the respective brackets is limited by the stop nuts 91 which are pinned in predetermined spaced relation on the screw 83. Thus it will be apparent that upon rotation of the screw 83 the eccentric brackets 29 and 30 will be angularly displaced about the axis of the shaft 26 to thereby raise or lower said shaft relative to the shaft 34 within maximum and minimum limits. .The teeth of the respective gears 36 and 43 are formed so that they will remain in mesh'through the full range of.

adjustment and continued to drive the slow down members in precise timed relation. This adjustment also makes it possible to raise the brake shoe member of the rear unit of the double pile delivery mechanism to an inoperative position when all of the sheets are to be delivered to the front pile 15.

In the device as illustrated in Figure 1, the respective jogger blades 19 and gripper actuating cams 17 and 18 are mounted in relatively fixed position and, therefore, when sheets of different sizes are to be processed it is necessary to adjust the slow down units longitudinally in thepath of the sheets in accordance with the sheet.

to and positioned so as to engage rack teeth 94 formed in the lower edge of the supporting bars 23 and 24. Thus when the shaft 92 is rotated by means of the handle 96 the slow down units will be moved longitudinally in the path of the sheets in either direction and to any extent required. The units are locked against any unintended movement while the press is in operation by means of the locking screw 97 which is threaded into a tapped opening provided therefore in the frame member 21 so as to engage the shaft 92.

It will be noted that when such longitudinal adjustments are imparted to the slow down unit, the rotary members, i.e., the control disc, the brake shoe and the coacting wheels 44, will remain in timed relation with the chain delivery due to the fact that these members are driven directly from the chain 10 through the drive sprocket 37 and thus will be rotated accordingly when the units are moved relative to the chain 10. This is important in view of the fact that the control disc must clear the respective gripper bars and thus the notch 78 provided therein for this purpose must be maintained in the proper position.

While I have herein described and illustrated a preferred embodiment of my invention it will be apparent that various changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of this invention and which I intend to cover in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a sheet delivery, the combination of mechanism for retarding sheets upon their release from the grippers of a sheet conveyor comprising, a pair of rotatable members mounted respectively above and below the path of the sheets, drive means for rotating said members at reduced surface speed with respect to said conveyor, said members being adapted to engage each sheet momentarily and, upon its release by said grippers, to retard its forward motion, and resilient means interconnected between one of said members and said drive means to permit said one member to advance with respect to said drive means upon initial engagement with said sheet.

2. In a sheet delivery, the combination of mechanism for retarding sheets upon their release from the grippers of a sheet conveyor comprising, a wheel mounted for 1'0 tationbelow the pathof the sheets, an arcuate member' rotatably' mountedabove tha path of the sheets and': having coaction with said wheel to engage each sheet and retard it upon its release by said grippers, supporting--= shaftssforsaid' wheel and=said member; drive'means for rotating saidr shafts and therewith said wheel and said member at reduced surface speed withrespect to said" conveyor; and resilient spring means-interconnected betweenisaid member and its supporting shaft" to permit overtravel' of said member with: respect to said drivemeans .and said wheel upon initial engagement-with the sheet.

3; In atsheet delivery, the-combination: of mechanism for retardingrsheets upon their: releasefrom =th'e grippers of a sheet 7 conveyor comprising; a pair of horizontally ber and said wheel at reduced surface speed with respect'a:

tosaid" conveyor whereby upon engagementiof a sheet between. thetarcuatemember and the .wheelits speed. is. retarded, resilient; means interconnecting saidgarcuate member with said; drive meansto permitovertravelhof? said2. -arcuatermember. relative to: said: 'drive' means: under:

the influence .ofithe sheet until it is released :by 'said rgrip; pers, and means carried by saidxframe members andxh'aving meshing relation with said racks for moving' theiarcuateitmemberl and T the wheell bodily, longitudinallyintQthe wheel mounted;he1ow*the*path of thesheets for coaction' with said-segment to engage'an'd retard-the sheets, said patlfiofthe sheetsg in accordancewith the sizeof the shfeetz v 1 4. In asheet delivery, the combination of mechanism for retarding sheets upon their release from the grippers of a "slieet -conveyor comprising, a shaftmounted for rotationab'ov' the path of the sheets, a brakeshoe' segment rotatably rnounted 'on said shaft, a sheet'controldisc fixed tGsaidsHaft' adja'cent said'segment, the periphery ofsaid disc being sub'stantial'ly tangent to-the path of the'sheets and havinga; recess formed therein to clear said grippers,

means interconnecting said disc with said segment includinga compressionspring for maintaining the relative angular positions of 'the 'disc and segment, drive means for-rotating'said disc' and therewith said'segment at reduced surface speed with respect to said conveyor, and acompress'ion' sprin'g permitting "said segment to advance relative to =s'aiddisc and said wheel under progressively increasing tension until theleading edge of thesheet is releasedby said *gri'ppers'.

ReferencesCited in the file-of this patent UNITED I STATES PATENTS 1 ,080,036; Whiteve'. Dec. 2', 191-3,- l',2l1-,5-12 White -.Ian.-9, 1917 1,226,168 Barber May '15, 1917 1.;646,529 Fallot Oct. 25,1927 23,012,448 Hallstreamuu Aug.1,27,1935' 106,199 5 Worrnser Ian;25,' 1938- 2308;978 Harroldzetwalay July 23, 1940 25551 060 Simmons Maw- 1,; 1951 $566,240 Mursch Aug. 28-; 1951 Thomsen; Jan. 10, 1956 

